My tip:If you're going to bicycle and are not used to it, GET USED TO IT. There can be lots of little bumps (washboard) on the playa. Pedaling a few to ten miles the first day is to be expected and by the end of it your butt is gonna hurt. Normally that's not a huge problem- unless you want bike the next six days. It's kinda like doing 100 sit ups one morning after years of inactivity- you might be able to do a hundred again in a few days but tomorrow? No way.

Plan A. Get on a bike at least two or three weeks before the burn and ride an hour or two every couple days on the roughest roads/trails you can find. Plan B. Bring a towel to roll up and duct tape to your seat.

The thing I learned my first year is that I really should of built up some sort of tan before going to the playa. So ever since then I make it a point to go out into the evil day star for a bit every day for months leading up to being on the playa. By the time I hit the playa, my skin is a shade of alabaster to ivory white, which is darker then my natural Dracula. Toss on some sunscreen and I have no issues.

So yeah, playa virgins..If you are a nocturnal glimmering vampire, you will need to build up a small tan, because sunscreen alone will not save you.

Yeah, my first year I hadn't biked in probably half a decade, and brought out the bike a week before just to see if the tires were working. The first day we arrived we went biking to see the various sites, not bad, but that was the first day, and that was a pretty easy year. Of course it's never the first day that kills you. It may not even be the second one. If you're sore two days after your big work-out you are in REALLY bad shape, and expect to feel terrible. Well fortunately, it was a next-day soreness, but it SUCKED.

Fortunately, the soreness went away relatively quickly, mostly because you're going to push yourself out there no matter how out-of-fucking-shape you happen to be. The best way to relieve soreness is to keep using the muscles. Normally, we'll just sit around and let the pain go away. Well, not out there! So expect great things from yourself, but still, training helps.

Oh and bring some magnesium supplements as well as some source of potassium (doesn't need to be sports drinks). You'll feel a LOT better, and you'll SLEEP better with the mag (works good in default life too). Don't take too much lest you want to shit liquid.

For other exercise: build and break down the structures you're building for shade, etc. in your yard as well. You don't want to get to the playa and then strain yourself while holding some pipes over your head or something ridiculous. You might even help other people in your camp in ways you did not predict. For example, we ended up doing a lot of drilling for getting some metal structures up and that was pretty unexpected, but doable. Just make sure you can push yourself, because you'll really want to.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

Walk more, bike more, dance more, drink more water (seriously, gear yourself up to drink more water per day than you ever have). I find that working on projects throughout the spring and summer helps, not only to get the projects done (hehe) but to improve general fitness.

Buy your "piss like a man" device TODAY, and use it every day so you can do it without incident in any condition by the time you get out there. (truly can't stress enough how great these are for mid-sleep pees in a bottle --- nothing will start your day earlier than expected like a walk to the jots, and sometimes sleep is just More Important than another experience)

And yes. Sun. Get that body used to it. Especially the tender - lesser-exposed bits. They WILL burn otherwise, no matter how much you slather on.

Worry is a misuse of imagination“She hadblue skin, And so didhe. He kept it hid And so did she.They searched for blueTheir whole life through, Then passed right by- And never knew.” Shel Silverstein

the set up KILLS my lower back every year. I use a back brace & THIS year im going to start doing streatching exercises.. starting tomorrow. Im bringing hand weights to work to stranghten my arms a little.. & I will bring aspercream to the playa with me JUST in case.If you are "bike sore" after a day or two. Plan a pedestrian day to rest you bike muscles & get to know your neighborhood.

Last year I was quite out of shape and the playa stomped my ass. This year I started preparing for that the week I got back. Since I find the gym boring I use more active exercise.

The two most important things IMHO are walking and riding a bike. I try to alternate getting to work this way every day that isn't raining or snowing. Now is the time to break in those boots you are bringing and get your ass used to a bicycle seat (if you don't ride regularly already).

For (mostly) upper body exercise, I spin my poi at least 2 hours a day. Any activity that you like will be fine for this - dancing, hooping, swimming, or even working out at the gym.

Heat - NY heat tends to be much more oppressive than the playa because of the humidity. I found that as long as I stayed hydrated I had no real issues with heat on the playa, but then I've had several jobs where temps sometimes hit 120 or so.

Sun - I never went out without sunscreen thoroughly applied on the playa, even used spray sunscreen through my hair to protect my scalp. Much to my surprise I came back slightly paler than usual because here in NY I never wear sunscreen and apparently I got less sun through to my skin on the playa than I usually do. YMMV as everyones skin is different.

Start hydrating before you get to the playa, the amount of water you will need to consume daily is way more than most folks are used to. Add electrolytes to your water.

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.

-Tear down your house. Put it in a truck. Drive 10 hours in any direction. Put the house back together. Invite everyone you meet to come over and party. When they leave, follow them back to their homes, drink all their booze, and break things.

-Stack all your fans in one corner of the living room. Put on your most fabulous outfit. Turn the fans on full blast. Dump a vacuum cleaner bag in front of them.

-Buy a new set of expensive camping gear. Break it.

-Lean back in a chair until that point where you're just about to fall over, but you catch yourself at the last moment. Hold that position for 9 hours.

-Only use the toilet in a house that is at least 3 blocks away. Drain all the water from the toilet. Only flush it every 3 days. Hide all the toilet paper.

-Set your house thermostat so it's 50 degrees for the first hour of sleep and 100 degrees the rest of the night.

-Cut, burn, electrocute, bruise, and sunburn various parts of your body. Forget how you did it. Don't go to a doctor.

-Don't sleep for 5 days. Take a wide variety of hallucinogenic/emotion altering drugs. Pick a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend.

-Pay an escort of your affectional preference subset to not bathe for five days, cover themselves in glitter, dust, andsunscreen, wear a skanky neon wig, dance close naked, then say they have a lover back home at the end of the night.

-Spend a whole year rummaging through thrift stores for the perfect, most outrageous costume. Forget to pack it.

-Shop at Wal-mart, Cost-Co, and Home Depot until your car and trailer are completely packed with stuff. Tell everyone that you're going to a "Leave-No-Trace" event. Empty your car into a dumpster.

-Listen to music you hate for 168 hours straight, or until you think you are going to scream. Scream. Realize you'll love the music for the rest of your life.

-Spend 5 months planning a "theme camp" like it's the invasion of Normandy. Spend Monday-Wednesday building the camp. Spend Thurs-Sunday nowhere near camp because you're sick of it or can't find it.

-Walk around your neighborhood and knock on doors until someone offers you cocktails and dinner. Or acid.

-Leave a nice couch on the side of the highway.

-Bust your ass for a "community." See all the attention get focused on the drama queen crybaby.

-Parade around naked and then complain that someone is 'oggling' you.

-Get so drunk you can't recognize your own house. Walk slowly around the block for 5 hours. Tell your boss you aren't coming to work this week but he should "gift" you a paycheck anyway. When he refuses, accuse him of not loving the "community".

-Search alleys until you find a couch so unbelievably tacky and nasty filthy that a state college frat house wouldn't want it. Take a nap on the couch and sleep like you are king of the world.

-Ask your most annoying neighbor to interrupt your fun several times a day with third hand gossip about every horrible thing that's happened in the last 24 hours. Have them wear khaki.

-Go to a museum. Find one of Salvador Dali's more disturbing, but beautiful paintings. Climb inside it.

-Before eating any food, drop it in a sandbox and lick a battery.

-Mail $200 to the Reno casino of your choice.

-Spend thousands of dollars and several months of your life building a deeply personal art work. Hide it in a fun house on the edge of the city. Hire people to come by and alternate saying "I love it" and "this sucks balls." Blow it up.

-Set up a DJ system downwind of a three alarm fire. Play a short loop of drums n'bass until the embers are cold.

-Make a list of all the things you'll do different next year. Never look at it.

-Have a 3 a.m. soul-baring conversation with a drag nun in platforms, a crocodile and Bugs Bunny. Be unable to tell if you're hallucinating.

-Be totally hot for the Bugs Bunny.

"If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others?"- Voltaire, Candide

Great posts! And what Drawingablank said about boots times 100. If you're getting boots or shoes for the playa, make that purchase ASAP. Start wearing that footwear now… a lot. All the time. Better to break them in now, and suffer any adjustment period (blisters, etc) so you don't have to go through that while out in the desert.

Depending on your body and your scheduled responsibilities, like operating a motor vehicle, you can shift your sleep schedule starting about 3-4 days in advance with melatonin and your exposure to bright light/darkness. Standard jet lag strategy. Do not operate a motor vehicle or machinery or try to shop in Reno while asleep. As for attending Dr Pyro's after party while asleep, you will have to ask him for advice.

f you have any, shave your balls now to avoid chafing and allow for the sack to toughen up....

Actually, I've got the other model. As far as shaving, I was actually thinking the OPPOSITE: stop shaving everything (pits/legs/nether-regions),so that there is no chance of chafing or irritation.

Though my boyfriend will not be at the event with me, our relationship is committed & monogamous, so needing to attract the opposite sex is a non-issue for me...hoping that the unshaved legs may even ward off some frat-boys and their ilk.

Training today: sewing for hours in my room in 90+ degree weather with no AC on.

I forgot to shave my legs one year before we left home. I have blonde hair, so it isn't very visible... except in the big dust storm where each hair on my leg stood up in the static-filled dry air, each one coated in dust. Actually kinda nifty.

What worked well for me last year, and I'm mostly repeating this year...

I started riding a bike eight to twelve miles a day with a full camelbak. Alternating between my burner bike and my regular bike, just to mix it up a bit. Before each ride, I do some pushups and situps. I also try to go swimming at least once a week, and last year I ran two miles a day, but I haven't done that this year. I found that just being generally fit was all that was needed to keep me active throughout the week. I also work on getting used to the heat by doing my biking in the middle of the day when possible, when it is blisteringly hot out. Over time, it becomes a bit less painful.

In fact, I'm gonna do some pushups and situps right now. 2:30 in the AM, why the fuck not.

Im pretty fit. Been going to the gym for a long time, so prepping for "normal" playa activites isnt an issue. But I did something pretty stoopid in 04.

It was around daybreak, and a bunch of us were sitting around bullshitting when the trash fence came up. (dont ask). Somehow I decided that running the perimeter was a good idea. I frequently wear running shoes on playa, so I got my camelback, ran along 9:00, came to the fence, and ran towards 6:00. A few hours later, I arrived back at camp. I took of my shoes, and soaked them in some ice water, and felt pretty good.Well, someone in our camp said there was no way i could do it again. I pretty much agreed, as I was beat. Pretty soon, others started offering various "incentives" to me to do it again. The next thing I knew, I had my shoes on again and started running again. I was like Forrest Fucking Gump. Only not wealthy. Anyway, I made it all the way around to the temple before I couldnt run another step. It was about noon, and hot as shit. There were no art cars anywhere near me, and I had several miles to get to camp. Somehow I made it back, and spent the rest of the day/night recovering. The next day I didnt do shit either.

I do cardio and upper body weights all year, both of which are useful (my shade structure is heavy as hell and requires much pounding of rebar). I don't lift free weights because I am a solitary creature during workouts and don't want a spotter, but the chest press machine is pretty cool. I typically do 4 sets of 16-20 reps at whatever I can do that frequently, at least once a week, ideally twice.

As the event approaches, I taper off my caffeine use--just tea, right now. Chilled canned coffee then becomes the best thing ever, once I get to the Burn, and actually wakes me up (rather than merely being "maintenance").

*** 2017 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Being in shape helps, but it's equally important to expend your energy efficiently on the playa.

-Have your living space dialed in advance and practice setting everything up before you get there.-Pack with detailed organization and know where to find everything you need. Looking for things can take up a lot of time and energy.-Have a plan for feeding yourself. It's best to keep your meals simple and pre-made unless you are an ambitious chef.-Don't fight nature. Unless it's overcast there is little reason to venture out between noon and 5pm. Save your strength for other hours.

I know I might get shafted for this but it really helps me, I go to my favorite music festival High Sierra Music Fest (In Quincy, west of BRC in CA)Been going to that longer than I have been going to BMan. Its my fav time of the year. I would never miss it. Its different than other festivals. But never mind that....It IS a 5 day marathon of extreme dry heat and epic shit and community. Very overstimulating and overwhelming. It does help boot camp me for BMan, its true, hippies.....It gets me around large crowds, camp in intense heat, getting used to lots of sound and energy. I can also test out any toys or what not.

Other than that, I joined the gym in Feb. and if I kicked as much ass as I did at HSMF, that means I am going to be in the best shape ever for this years Burn!!! Yessssssss I have had some horrible burning mans where my back was fucked, terrible...I had to leave early once. Have not had that prob since yoga and gym.

Practice your hydration NOW. Get your body used to more fluids intake and peeing more frequently. That and carrying around your water with you. If it's habit now you won't be caught dead in the open playa without water...

That's what I'm calling it. To others it may be a workout, fitness routine or just plain healthy livin', but I've decided that BM was the perfect reason to start running again and maybe eat a bit better. I'd like to be able to rage with the best of them out on the playa, so I'm going to do what I can between now and arriving at BRC to get in shape.

I know it's late in the game, and as I struggled to finish my first mile of my 2.5 mile route, I desperately wished I started a few months ago. However, the fun part of the night was needing to stop at a store to pick up a few things. The only thing I could find remotely adequate to carry things running out of my house was my two-year-old's red fuzzy Spider-Man backpack. I walked into CVS a hot mess wearing it. The cashier smiled and told me her son had the same one.

If anyone wants to join me on this trek, feel free to take up your own routine and post about it here. Or you can participate by pushing, harassing and encouraging me to keep up with mine.

I saw a 'Fitness Club' thread, but it seems to have died... and I really think this is more about preparing for Playa Life.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."